Shattered Hopes
by Midmoonish
Summary: Bron wants to explain why she slept with Andy but will Ben listen?


SHATTERED HOPES  
  
By Charlie Bates  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters you see in this fic.  
  
Summery: This fic is set after Ben finds out about Brons fling with Andy in London.  
  
"What do you mean the wedding's off?!" exclaimed Bron as Ben closed the ambulance door. He turned to face her. "You don't expect me to just forgive you? You slept with another man, Bron!" his voice echoed.  
  
Bron felt her heart breaking into a million pieces as the words echoed through her mind. Yes she had slept with another man but it was a mistake, it didn't mean anything and she was sorry, she had told him that. "Ben, I'm sorry," she said as the tears streamed down her face, she sounded lame but she didn't care, she didn't care how many times she had said sorry, she would never stop until he at least tried to believe her.  
  
"Just go," he said harshly as he headed towards the drivers side of the ambulance and got in. He started the engine and drove off with Scott in the passenger seat.   
  
Bron felt helpless and weak, she was nothing without Ben. He was everything to her, he was her heart and soul, her reason for living. She needed to fix things, show him that she couldn't live without him.  
  
Bron found herself knocking on Ben's door after her shift had finished. She needed to see him, she needed to explain… if he'd only let her. She didn't know how many times she had knocked, she had lost count, she knew Ben was in there.  
  
Suddenly the door flung open to reveal a somewhat annoyed Ben. "Bron what do you want?!" he wasn't at all happy to see her, there was so much hatred in his eyes. How could he feel so much hatred towards her when only a week ago he had told her that he would always love her?  
  
"I just want to explain," Bron finally spoke   
  
"Well I don't want to know!" Ben said as he glared at her "I don't want to hear anything you have to say Bron." Ben attempted to close the door but Bron thrust the door back with her hand.   
  
"Would you just listen to me! Stop being so bloody childish!" Bron yelled. She couldn't take anymore of his hostility towards her, it hurt too much.  
  
Ben took a long look at Bron. He wasn't ready, he didn't want anything to do with her, not after she had betrayed him. "I said I don't want to hear it." Once more the hostility came through. He was like a broken record player and he knew it but he had to get his message across. He knew that Bron was stubborn and wouldn't give in unless he made it totally clear to her.  
  
"Fine," Bron said softly and sat on the doorstep "If you don't want to listen to me that's fine but I'm not going anywhere until you do."   
  
Ben stared at her for a moment, was she serious? Surely she wasn't going to sit on the doorstep all night. No she wouldn't, she would leave in a few hours, she would get bored   
  
and go home. Bearing this in mind Ben took one last look at her before closing the door.  
  
It was almost midnight when Ben woke up for a drink. As he wandered through the kitchen, drink in hand he suddenly remembered Bron. He put the glass of water on the breakfast bar before making his way over to the door. As he opened the door the cold night air hit the bare skin of his upper body. He looked down and sure enough Bron was still there. Bron was huddled up in a ball and was shivering, the winter chill seeping through her layers of clothes.  
  
Ben stood there for a few minutes contemplating what to do. In the end he decided that he couldn't just leave her lying there, she would freeze. He bent down and scooped her in his arms gently, taking her inside to the couch and placing her down gently. Brons stirred but did not wake, she hadn't slept properly in days and was overcome by tiredness and the need for sleep. The evidence was there for Ben to see, the dark rings that highlighted her eyes were huge.   
  
After placing a warm blanket over Bron, Ben retreated to his room into the land of slumber.  
  
Bron woke to the sound of birds chirping and the distant sound of dogs barking. She looked around at her surroundings, she wasn't entirely sure where she was until she spotted a photo of Ben, his mother and sister on the wall.   
  
Bron stepped out onto the front patio to find Ben putting his shoes on, he looked as though he was almost ready to leave for work.  
  
"You brought me in," Bron said, still feeling hazy.   
  
"Well I couldn't just leave you out here to freeze now, could I?!" Ben was still very bitter towards her. "It didn't mean anything, I still haven't changed my mind and I'd like you to leave me alone! Maybe permanently if you could manage it!"  
  
"You don't mean that… you said you loved me," Bron spoke softly now as tears began to build in her eyes. Bens words had hurt her severely.  
  
Ben stood up and looked into Brons glistening eyes. "And you said you loved me! Now I meant what I just said Bron, I don't want you anywhere near me after today."  
  
Tears began to fall as Bron felt the full impact of what Ben had just said. He looked into her eyes and said it to her face, he must have meant every word. As the tears rolled down Brons cheeks, she turned and walked down the path leaving Ben's house for what she knew was the last time.  
  
Vision blinded by the tears, Bron stepped out onto the road. Screeching tires were heard followed by a loud thud. She had been hit.  
  
Ben looked up quickly, he could see Bron lying on the ground as the car that hit her sped off into the distance. He ran over to her quickly. "Bron, can you hear me?!" he asked as he checked her pulse.   
  
She looked up at him as excruciating pain ripped through her body. She didn't say anything though, she couldn't, it hurt so badly.  
  
"Bron, where does it hurt?" asked Ben as he moved some loose hair from her tearstained face. Bron weakly moved her hand to her abdomen to indicate where the pain was situated.   
  
Ben quickly called for an ambulance with his mobile, now all he had to do was wait for it to arrive.  
  
Bron was getting weaker and weaker by the second, she was bleeding internally and was drifting in and out of consciousness. "Bron, stay awake for me," Ben begged as he clutched her hand in his "I know you're tired but you need to try and stay with me."  
  
Stay with him? He had just finished telling her that he wanted nothing more to do with her and now he was saying she needed to stay with him.   
  
"Come on Bron, keep your eyes on me, look at me," he demanded, he needed to keep her conscious. "Bron!" Ben yelled, "Come on, stay with me." He had her cradled in his arms now, and hoped like hell that the ambulance would hurry up.  
  
It was becoming increasingly hard for Bron to breathe now, every breath she took was tiring and draining her energy. She wanted to die, the pain of a broken heart combined with her other injuries was just unbearable. It would be much easier to just float away and never come back.   
  
Brons eyelids began to fall shut again as her breathing got worse. All she could hear was Bens voice. "Bron, open your eyes! Open your eyes Bron!" he demanded trying to get her attention. "Come on Bron, you can't just give up!"  
  
Suddenly sirens were heard as the ambulance pulled up by the side of the road.  
  
"How is she?" Ben asked after jumping up out of his seat to greet Luke.  
  
"The good news is that she made it through surgery… Ben, we've had to put her on life support, she isn't responding to anything," explained Luke.  
  
Ben sat by Brons bed for days, urging her to wake up, but she wouldn't. Ben began to blame himself, if he hadn't have spoken to her so harshly and sent her off in tears then none of this would have happened. He didn't even mean what he had said, but now it had become almost a reality, he had almost lost her for good. Ben knew that life without Bron was hard, he had experienced a week without her and knew that he didn't want to spend a lifetime without her.  
  
"Bron," Ben whispered, leaning over her as he held her hand tightly "Come on, wake up for me… there's something I want you to know."   
  
A few seconds had past when her eyes finally opened. She began to feel uncomfortable with the tube down her throat and began to get agitated.   
  
"It's ok," Ben said squeezing her hand tightly, "The tubes just there to help you breathe." Ben pushed the buzzer summoning a nurse. Rebecca came rushing in "What's wrong?" she asked, but her question was answered when she saw that Bron's eyes were open. "You're awake," exclaimed Rebecca as she began to check one of Bron's many monitors. "I'll get Luke to come and take the tube out," Rebecca finally said after checking a few more things.  
  
Once the tube was out Ben and Bron were left on their own.  
  
"Bron," Ben said softly. "I'm so sorry.. I should have let you explain… I came so close to losing you… what I'm trying to say is that I love you." He had finally said what he had been bottling up, he was finally being honest with himself.   
  
Bron looked away for a few seconds before Ben turned her head back to face him. He looked into Brons eyes and whispered, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean a word of what I said, I love you and I never want to lose you."   
  
Tears began to slide down Bron's face as she hugged him and replied with a simple, "I love you too."  
  
THE END  
  
Send feedback to: mrs_forlano2003@yahoo.com.au 


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